RSS preparing BJP agenda for UttaranchalDehra Dun, January 8The RSS is setting up an agenda for the ruling BJP in Uttaranchal. As the first elections to the State Legislative Assembly are drawing near, top RSS stalwarts of the region are busy finalising the party manifesto and the list of candidates.

Govindacharya removed as ‘pracharak’New Delhi, January 8Sidelined BJP leader K.N. Govindacharya today suffered yet another blow to his political career when he was removed as “pracharak” from the RSS, which had deputed him to the party.

Seat-sharing in UP: BJP faces uphill taskNew Delhi, January 8The BJP is facing an uphill task in Uttar Pradesh to
bring the electoral demands of its allies in line with the aspirations
of its own ticket seekers.

Chinese PM to visit IndiaNew Delhi, January 8Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji will pay a six-day official visit to India from January 13 and will be engaged in discussions with the top Indian leadership, including Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Leader of the Opposition Sonia
Gandhi.

LCA not before
schedule: expertBangalore, January 8The growing tension between India and Pakistan has brought the light combat aircraft project scientists under pressure to have the fighter aircraft operational and available to the IAF earlier than the scheduled deadline of 2005, LCA Project Director, Dr Kota
Harinarayana, said.

Red Fort shootout case: hearing
on February 4New Delhi, January 8The arguments on charges in the Red Fort shootout, in which militants of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) stormed the 17th century monument on December 22, 2000 and killed two Army personnel and a civilian, will commence on February 4.

CBI nabs IT official in GwaliorNew Delhi, January 8In its continued swoop to check corruption, the CBI today arrested an Additional Commissioner of Income Tax in Gwalior for allegedly amassing assets to the tune of over Rs 2 crore which were disproportionate to his known sources of income, an agency spokesman said here.

War against terrorism
‘serious issue’New Delhi, January 8The Union Human Resource Development Minister, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, today said that war waged by India
against terrorism ought to be taken very seriously. Addressing a gathering of the All-India Brahmin Mahasabha, Dr Joshi said: “It has to be understood that the war is against the evil of terrorism, not against any religion or country.”

Contempt plea against KarunanidhiChennai, January 8The Tamil Nadu Government today filed a petition in Madras High Court, seeking to initiate action against former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi “for having committed criminal contempt by scandalising the judges and the judiciary through articles in the party organ “murasoli”, in the wake of the verdict in the Tansi land deal cases.’’

Father jumps on girl’s pyre, survivesPatna, January 8A failed father and a victim of system had probably no way out but to throw himself on the funeral pyre of his daughter who was one among the thousands killed in Bihar for a paltry sum of money as dowry. Mr Kailash Paswan, however, was not burnt completely he was saved by elders and is now struggling for life with acute burn injuries.

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Dehra Dun, January 8
The RSS is setting up an agenda for the ruling BJP in Uttaranchal. As the first elections to the State Legislative Assembly are drawing near, top RSS stalwarts of the region are busy finalising the party manifesto and the list of candidates.

Dr Devindra Bhasin, former chairman of the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) and an RSS activist has been given powers to draft the party manifesto and shortlist applications received from party leaders seeking ticket. A close associate of Dr Bhasin disclosed that the party manifesto had been drafted and the list of applicants had also been shortlisted. It would now be up to the election committee to decide the candidates.

Incidentally, Mr Kushabau Thakre, in charge of the party affairs of Uttaranchal had already held seat-wise discussions with the state party president, Mr Puran Chand Sharma and the Chief Minister, Mr Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, last month, and prepared a constituency-wise panel of candidates.

It is worth mentioning that the Uttaranchal CM was also an RSS pracharak before stepping into politics. Although, as a Chief Minister he may not have a say in deciding on the party ticket but being a confidant of the RSS his presence in the election committee meeting being a special invitee would ultimately change the statistics.

The criterion adopted for short-listing the applicants has been purely on RSS thinking. Three candidates have been short-listed from each of the 70 Assembly segments. Out of which at least two applicants either having the RSS background or recommended by top leaders of the RSS have been included in the list.

Even the announcement of snapping ties with the NDA partners of the BJP in the state was influenced by the RSS. A top leader of the RSS told TNS that the BJP in itself was strong enough to win a comfortable majority in Uttaranchal and there was no point in carrying along other parties. In UP and Punjab the situation is different. Otherwise, if the BJP had been strong enough in these two states it would have gone it alone in the elections.

The RSS has also been putting pressure on the election committee to push away former Chief Minister Mr Nityanand Swami from the Lakshan Chowk (Dehra Dun city) constituency to the Vikas Nagar constituency. But Mr Swami has been insisting to fight from the Lakshan Chowk constituency. Being under pressure from RSS Mr Mohan Singh Rawat Gamvasi, a Cabinet Minister and a close confidant of Mr Swami has decided not to contest the elections.

Dr Bhasin, who has drafted the party manifesto on the RSS lines, has himself applied for the party ticket from the Rajpur constituency. A Reader of History in the local DAV College Dr Bhasin is a staunch RSS follower enjoying good relations with BJP leaders in the state. Never been controversial in his political career, he is trusted among all for working in the interests of the RSS and the BJP.

New Delhi, January 8
Striking a belligerent posture, the RSS today asserted that it would go ahead with the proposed January 20-27 “Sant yatra” from Ayodhya to Delhi to impress upon the Vajpayee government to remove all hurdles in the construction of the Ram temple.

“Despite the changed security scenario and the coming Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh, the yatra will be taken out. A change in the schedule can be made only in case of a war breaking out between India and Pakistan,” RSS spokesman M.G. Vaidya told reporters.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had recently told reporters in Lucknow that March 12 was not the deadline for the BJP to resolve the contentious issue. “But for us (RSS), the deadline stands. It continues to be valid,” Mr Vaidya commented.

He maintained that the yatra would be peaceful and care would be taken not to violate law and order. He demanded that of the total 60 acres of land at Ayodhya where the temple complex is located, 41 acres should be given to the VHP to enable the outfit to start the reconstruction work.

About the yatra, he said some 500-700 saints from Ayodhya would embark on the journey from Ayodhya on January 20 and reach Delhi on January 27.

However, the deadline of March 12 should not be construed to give the impression that the reconstruction work would begin on March 13 itself, he said.
UNI

New Delhi, January 8
Sidelined BJP leader K.N. Govindacharya today suffered yet another blow to his political career when he was removed as “pracharak” from the RSS, which had deputed him to the party.

“He (Govindacharya) is no more a “pracharak”. He has been informed of this decision,” RSS spokesman M.G. Vaidya told reporters here today but declined to elaborate on the reasons for this action. RSS sources said he was removed for his anti-organisation activites.

Mr Govindacharya, who held the post of general secretary of the BJP, stepped down from office last year on the plea that he wanted two years sabbatical to study the impact of globalisation on poverty in the country.

Mr Govindacharya’s career graph began to take a sharp dip following his reported remark that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was a “mukhota” (mask); though he later denied having said so.

The controversy surrounding his relationship with Sports Minister and firebrand BJP leader Uma Bharati saw his critics within the party gunning for him which eventually saw his removal from the party post.

Known in party circles for his organisational capability and analytical bent of mind, Mr Govindacharya represented the hardline in the party which was not to the liking of some senior leaders who advocated a middle path.

“Pracharaks” are full-time RSS volunteers who remain unmarried throughout their lives and serve the organisation and spread its ideology without any remuneration.
PTI

New Delhi, January 8
The BJP is facing an uphill task in Uttar Pradesh to bring the electoral demands of its allies in line with the aspirations of its own ticket seekers.

While the BJP has indicated its initial decision to contest 325 constituencies out of total 403 in the forthcoming UP Assembly elections, but the demands of the Rashtriya Lok Dal of Union Agriculture Minister Ajit Singh, the Lok Janashakti of Coal Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and the Janata Dal (U) of Labour Minister Sharad Yadav have literally thrown a spanner in the assessment of the ruling party leaders, a senior leader admitted to TNS.

Mr Ajit Singh was insisting on 60 seats, Mr Paswan wanted 30 and Mr Yadav would also not be contended with less than 15 and if the BJP conceded to their wishes then allies like Ms Maneka Gandhi and other partners in the Rajnath Singh government, like the Lok Tantrik Congress, would cause a real problem, sources pointed out.

The Samata Party of Defence Minister George Fernandes also had a rightful claim on some seats in Uttar Pradesh, the leader said.

Though none of the BJP leaders is willing to go on record to confirm or deny the exact number of seats that its allies have been demanding but many in the party admit that the bargaining in the next few days that the party would have to willy nilly do with its allies is not going to be an easy task.

In normal course, the party would have had no problem in dealing with the unjust demands of its allies but the JD (U), the Lok Janashakti, the Samata Party, Ms Maneka Gandhi were the constituents of the National Democratic Alliance on whose cooperation the future of the Vajpayee government was so dependent, the sources said.

While talks remained bogged down on electoral adjustments, the BJP was going ahead with its poll preparations in full gear chalking out programmes of its leaders and printing of posters, pamphlets etc, the sources said.

The party had decided that it would seek people’s vote telling them that despite their fractured mandate, the BJP had given them a stable government for full five years, the sources said.

The BJP had already done its exercise in preparing party’s replies to charges like a jumbo Cabinet in the state and allegations of corruption, the sources said.

The party would tell the people that since the state could not afford political instability, the BJP had decided to go in for a lesser evil. Finally, the people might accept the blame as they had given a fractured mandate in the last Assembly elections, the sources said.

New Delhi, January 8
Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji will pay a six-day official visit to India from January 13 and will be engaged in discussions with the top Indian leadership, including Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Leader of the Opposition Sonia Gandhi, Mr Zhu’s visit assumes significance in view of the tense military standoff between India and Pakistan, a close strategic ally of Beijing. Mr Zhu and his wife Mrs Lao will also visit Agra, Mumbai and Bangalore, apart from New Delhi.

Mr Zhu will be accompanied by the Minister for
Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, the Minister for Labour and Social Security, the Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs and other senior officials.

Bangalore, January 8
The growing tension between India and Pakistan has brought the light combat aircraft (LCA) project scientists under pressure to have the fighter aircraft operational and available to the IAF earlier than the scheduled deadline of 2005, LCA Project Director, Dr Kota Harinarayana, said.

He told reporters, despite the pressure it would be impossible to advance the scheduled deadline for operationalising the aircraft as “a lot of effort has to go into developing an aircraft into a weapon system.”

Earlier, in his lecture on “Lessons from the LCA programme” organised by the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) yesterday, he explained the programme was crucially based on the development of enabling technologies which formed the platform for the development of a sophisticated combat aircraft.
PTI

New Delhi, January 8
The arguments on charges in the Red Fort shootout, in which militants of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) stormed the 17th century monument on December 22, 2000 and killed two Army personnel and a civilian, will commence on February 4.

Additional District and Sessions Judge M.S. Sabherwal said in his order that the arguments would begin on the appointed day after pre-charge formalities had been completed by a metropolitan magistrate.

Meanwhile, two more accused, Farooq Ahmed Qasid and his son Nazir, detained under the National Security Act in Jammu jail, were brought to Delhi for further interrogation. Today, both asked for time to find a lawyer.

Investigations so far revealed that some of the militants had sheltered in Farooq’s house and established contacts with Pakistan-based militants and Inter-Services Intelligence agents using wireless instruments.
UNI

New Delhi, January 8
In its continued swoop to check corruption, the CBI today arrested an Additional Commissioner of Income Tax in Gwalior for allegedly amassing assets to the tune of over Rs 2 crore which were disproportionate to his known sources of income, an agency spokesman said here.

An Indian Revenue Services official, V. S. Banthia, who was posted as Additional Commissioner, Income Tax, was arrested after the CBI’s Bhopal office searched his premises for two days.

The CBI conducted raids on the office and premises of Banthia at three places in Indore, Gwalior and Ahmedabad and claimed to have found gold ornaments and diamond jewellery worth Rs 4 lakh, fixed deposits worth Rs 3.4 crore and documents of property purchased under benami names.

Agency sources said the official could also be charged with bigamy under the Indian Penal Code as the investigators found that he had allegedly performed a second marriage without divorcing his first wife and had two children from his second marriage. This was against the service rules.
PTI

New Delhi, January 8
The Union Human Resource Development Minister, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, today said that war waged by India
against terrorism ought to be taken very seriously. Addressing a gathering of the All-India Brahmin Mahasabha, Dr Joshi said: “It has to be understood that the war is against the evil of terrorism, not against any religion or country.”

The Mahasabha had invited Dr Joshi to felicitate him for deleting objectionable portions from NCERT history textbooks. He said emphasis in school curriculum would be on instilling pride in our country and its rich culture. He said he failed to understand why some people still wanted to propagate Marx’ views that India’s history was the history of a defeated country. The minister said very little had been done to prepare textbooks which reversed these attitudes and developed confidence and pride in Indians towards their past and future. He said the Euro-centric mindset must be changed to enable the country emerge as a leader among nations.

Chennai, January 8
The Tamil Nadu Government today filed a petition in Madras High Court, seeking to initiate action against former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi “for having committed criminal contempt by scandalising the judges and the judiciary through articles in the party organ “murasoli”, in the wake of the verdict in the Tansi land deal cases.’’

Advocate-general N.R. Chandran filed the petition on behalf of the government. In his petition, Mr Chandran submitted that Mr Karunanidhi had written in Murasoli from December 5 onwards, a day after the verdict criticising the judgement and suggesting that the judgement was “procured”.

On a perusal of the articles, it was clear that certain allegations had been made which would make the common man believe that justice could be purchased by money.
UNI

Patna, January 8
A failed father and a victim of system had probably no way out but to throw himself on the funeral pyre of his daughter who was one among the thousands killed in Bihar for a paltry sum of money as dowry. Mr Kailash Paswan, however, was not burnt completely he was saved by elders and is now struggling for life with acute burn injuries.

A retired teacher in Bhanail village of Nawada district, Mr Paswan had taught his disciples to brave the odds of life but after he failed to get justice from the police and administration, he jumped on the funeral pyre of his daughter, Sanju Devi. His repeated attempts to get an FIR lodged against his son-in-law for alleged murder and torture for dowry failed as the cops did not pay much heed to his complaint. He maintained that his daughter was being tortured in the past for a motor cycle in dowry and 10 months back she was sent to her father’s place. She was, however, sent back to her in-laws’ place after legal proceedings.

Mr Paswan was informed that his daughter had committed suicide. He got an FIR lodged in the police station.

NATIONAL BRIEFS

LAWYER SENTENCED
TO JAIL
KOCHI: A lawyer practising at the Kerala High Court has been sentenced to one-month simple imprisonment in a contempt of court case. Mr Justice G. Sasidharan on Monday found advocate John Varghese guilty of contempt of court for making statements that “lowered the integrity and authority of the court.” However, the judge suspended the sentence to enable the lawyer to file an appeal.
UNI

SALMAN ALLOWED
TO GO ABROAD
JODHPUR: Film star Salman Khan, facing trial in black buck poaching cases, has been allowed by local courts here to go abroad. Two lower courts headed by Chief Judicial Magistrate S.K. Mathur and Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Ajay Kumar Ojha on Monday permitted him to go abroad and ordered the release of his passport seized during his arrest on the charges of poaching of protected wild animals. PTI

LIMIT FIXED FOR
POLL EXPENSES
DEHRA DUN: The maximum limit for election expenses in the Vidhan Sabha election per area has been fixed at Rs 6 lakh, Chief Election Officer of Uttaranchal N. Ravishankar has said. He said the Central Government held consultations with the Election Commission before issuing a notification to this effect.
UNI

SNOW IN KUMAON REGION
DEHRA DUN: Kalapani, Liplekh, Nabhidhang and Munsiyari in the Kumaon region of Uttaranchal experienced snowfall on Monday afternoon creating severe cold conditions in the entire Uttaranchal. Icy winds blew in the area on Monday evening. Hansling and Khaliatop peaks of the Kumaon Himalayas also had snow.
UNI

ULTRAS KIDNAP
2 BUSINESSMEN
ITANAGAR: Two businessmen of Dorlong village in east Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh have been kidnapped by suspected Bodo militants, official sources said on Tuesday. The businessmen were kidnapped by armed ultras when they had gone to a jungle near the Assam-Arunachal border on Sunday.
PTI

MAHARASHTRA SETS
UP HAJ COMMITTEE
MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Government has set up Maharashtra state Haj committee comprising Muslim members of the Assembly, ministers, religious scholars and social workers. The 34-members committee consists of Abid Naqvi, a TV journalist, Saeed Noori, secretary of the Raza Academy, Javed Shroff, trustee of Habib Hospital, Islamic scholar Gulzar Azmi and others.
UNI